In a statement issued yesterday, Dunja Mijatović, the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, criticised the collective expulsions, returns and violence imposed on migrants from Bosnia and Herzegovina by Croatian law enforcement agencies.
The criticism relates to facts documented by numerous human rights organisations and previously criticised by the Commissioner two years ago. Mijatović had called for prompt, effective and independent investigations, but, she said, it appears that despite the promises of the Croatian government, “violence and dehumanising acts accompanying pushbacks are increasing” while “Croatian law enforcement officers continue to enjoy impunity”.
The Commissioner is calling on the Croatian authorities to put an end to these practices by working with the Croatian Ombudsman’s Office in particular.
She is also asking them to publish the report of the Council of Europe Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) as soon after it has been adopted as possible. The report, which was written following a rapid reaction visit last August, includes interviews and medical examinations of migrants who claim to have been apprehended by Croatian law enforcement agencies before being forcibly returned to Bosnia and Herzegovina. (Original version in French by Véronique Leblanc)